Emmy Nominees: Best Drama Series

My predictions: 5/6, picking “Damages” over “True Blood”
Missing: “Damages,” “Friday Night Lights,” “House,” “Justified,” “Parenthood,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “Treme,” “24”

What an exciting list! I was expecting “Friday Night Lights” to oust “Damages” after the surprise nominations for Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, but an even better surprise awaited me! Procedural “House” is gone after four years of hogging a slot, and True Blood, which earned a few technical nominations, makes the cut, showing that voters may in fact be open-minded when it comes to vampire and other supernatural fare. Regarding “Damages,” it’s only a pity because this season was so much better than the previous two, and it always pains me when shows are recognized when they shouldn’t be and not recognized when they should be (see: “24” winning for its awful fifth season). The show did still earn five acting nods, which is quite impressive. Perennial winner Mad Men nabbed six acting nods, including one in all four of the major categories, while The Good Wife also made an impressive showing with five acting nominations. Lost earned four acting nods, including mentions for the arguably overdue Matthew Fox and Elizabeth Mitchell. Breaking Bad and Dexter, both coming off of their best seasons yet, made it in as well, each earning a directing nomination and a pair of acting nods. This is a great list, and while I would urge Emmy voters to tune their TVs to FX every once in a while, I’m quite pleased.

Who should win? “Mad Men” or “Breaking Bad”
Who will win? Episode submissions will determine a lot, but it will likely be “Mad Men” again unless “The Good Wife” or “Lost” can upset.